Canon Australia Business Process Outsourcing subsidiary, Converga, has announced the addition of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as a Service to its BPO platform.

Now part of a newly merged operation known as Canon Business Services, Converga’s RPA solution allows teams to capture and configure key back-office procedures, with software robots then performing those tasks exactly as a human would.

The company says RPA as a Service works across any system, with no lag time or software integration required. This allows users to tap into expert support and advice without the lead time, risk and expense of building an internal centre of excellence – improving speed, accuracy, and compliance across the organisation. Importantly, it frees up teams’ time so they can focus on profit-driving activity that requires more creative and critical thinking, like exception management and strategic decision making.

It can also be configured to mimic processes that are unique to specific customers, delivering greater reliability and efficiency.

In the banking and finance sector for example, Converga’s RPA service can help employees managing high volumes of repetitive form completions and submissions, as well as validations across various systems required to gain approvals. RPA can work alongside them to complete these tasks in a fraction of the time, removing the burden of these repetitive tasks from their role and enabling them to deliver more personalised customer service.

Luke Clark, CEO of Canon Business Services, which encompasses Harbour IT and Converga, said, “Working with RPA, organisations can automate repetitive parts of a task, such as budget reconciliations at month end, freeing up the finance team to focus on more strategic functions like cost accounting, forecasting, ROI analysis. It’s just another example of how Canon Business Services is focused on innovation that drives tangible business outcomes for our customers.”

The RPA service includes expert consultancy through Converga’s centre of excellence, helping customers start with a small automation experiment, assess the opportunity, and scale gradually without the risk and investment of a large rollout.